DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES:

Children’s Rights and Business in a Digital World

ACCESS TO THE
INTERNET AND
DIGITAL LITERACY
 DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of UNICEF, and UNICEF makes
no representation concerning the source, originality, accuracy, completeness or reliability of any statement,
information, data, finding, interpretation, advice or opinion contained herein.

©United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) October 2017

AUTHORS

A first draft of this discussion paper was prepared by Carly Nyst, independent consultant and expert on human
rights in a digital world. The discussion paper series on children’s rights and business in a digital world is
managed by Patrick Geary of the UNICEF Child Rights and Business Unit.

ABOUT THIS DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES

As more children around the world spend more time on the Internet in more ways, it becomes increasingly
essential to appreciate what children’s rights mean in a digital world. While there is now a widely accepted
public imperative to protect children from harm, abuse and violence online, there has been comparatively
little consideration of how to empower children as active digital rights holders. At the same time, the rapidly
expanding power and reach of the ICT sector have thrust communications and technology companies into key
policy debates on the risks and opportunities children encounter online.

This series of discussion papers seeks to explore the relationship between children’s rights, business and the
Internet in greater detail. The discussion papers address central themes, including children’s rights to privacy,
freedom of expression, information, education and non-discrimination. While the issues presented are by no
means exhaustive, it is hoped that these discussion papers will contribute to broadening the conversation on
children’s rights and business in a digital world.

2 CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL WORLD DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................................... 4

PART I: CHILDREN’S MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO THE INTERNET........................................................................ 6

Is there a right to access the Internet?..................................................................................................................... 7
What are the barriers to accessing the Internet?...................................................................................................... 7

PART II: PROVIDING MEANINGFUL INTERNET ACCESS...................................................................................... 8

Zero-rating services.................................................................................................................................................. 9
Enhancing and innovating connectivity................................................................................................................... 10
Free and discounted devices................................................................................................................................... 10
Digital literacy training............................................................................................................................................. 11

PART III: THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ICT SECTOR....................................... 12
Human rights and the ICT sector............................................................................................................................ 13
Integrating child rights considerations into all appropriate policies and processes................................................ 13
Educating children, parents and teachers about children’s safety and their responsible use of ICTs.................... 14
Promoting digital technology as a mode for increasing civic engagement............................................................. 14

PART IV: THE ROLE OF STATES............................................................................................................................ 15

Legislative measures............................................................................................................................................... 16
Policy measures...................................................................................................................................................... 16

CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................................... 17

ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL LITERACY 3

 INTRODUCTION

The digital world holds tremendous promise for children. Going online can offer access to boundless beneficial
information, facilitate new ways of interactive learning, provide for enriching life experiences and foster meaningful
cultural exchanges. From education and expression to participation and recreation, children are increasingly
empowered – even expected – to exercise their rights online.

A digital future may look bright, but it is far from guaranteed. While the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals have called for universal and affordable Internet access, less than half of the world’s population is online,
and tremendous disparities remain between industrialized and developing countries.1 Even within industrialized
countries, children in poorer communities,2 girls,3 and racial and ethnic minorities4 are less likely to have access to
the Internet at home. Hundreds of millions of children are not connected, and many of those who are lack the skills
to safely learn, grow and explore online.

This ‘digital divide’ highlights inequalities and entrenches situations of disadvantage, leaving children without
access to the Internet further and further behind. An increasing percentage of information is held in the cloud, a
growing number of public services have been digitized, and technology is becoming fundamentally integrated into
educational curricula. Indeed, as the Internet becomes ever more critical to the full enjoyment of human rights,
being disconnected poses ever greater obstacles.

The ICT sector plays an important role in facilitating children’s access to the Internet and enhancing their digital
literacy. Business can be a powerful force for connectivity, using its reach and resources to break down the digital
divide and provide the benefits of technology to all. From mobile birth registration to virtual entrepreneurship
training, networked companies can find countless opportunities to support children’s rights online.

This paper explores the ways in which public and private actors can seek to bring the Internet to children and to
impart to them the knowledge, skills and experience they need to fully exercise their rights online. It examines
children’s access and education rights, describing significant barriers to realizing meaningful access for all children
(Part I), and examines private sector initiatives to improve children’s access to and use of ICTs (Part II). The paper
then addresses the role and responsibilities of the ICT sector to respect and promote children’s access to the
Internet and digital literacy (Part III), and concludes by highlighting legal and policy measures that governments
might take to do the same (Part IV).

1
ITU, ICT Facts and Figures – the World in 2015, available at <www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx>.

2
Donald F. Roberts and Ulla G. Foehr, ‘Trends in Media Use’, in Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Elisabeth Donahue (eds), The Future of Children:
Children and Electronic Media, Volume 18, Number 1, Spring 2008. Summary available at <www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/
highlights/18_01_highlights_07.pdf>.

3
World Wide Web Foundation, Women’s Rights Online: Translating Access to Education, October 2015, available at <http://webfoundation.org/
wp-content/uploads/2015/10/womens-rights-online21102015.pdf>.

4
Donald F. Roberts and Ulla G. Foehr, ‘Trends in Media Use’, in Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Elisabeth Donahue (eds), The Future of Children:
Children and Electronic Media, Volume 18, Number 1, Spring 2008. Summary available at <www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/
highlights/18_01_highlights_07.pdf>.

4 CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL WORLD DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES

MEANINGFUL INTERNET ACCESS
5 6 7 8 9 10

100 MILLION
school-age children in developing countries do
not have access to education, and almost
10 TIMES as many do not have access to
quality education.5

2009 830 MILLION

young people aged 15 to 24 are estimated
was the first year to be online, and 35 per cent of people
that children were
using the Internet in the least developed
discussed at the
Internet Governance countries are young.7
Forum.6

53%
16% Nearly 9 out of 10 young people aged
15 to 24 who do not use the Internet live in
Africa or Asia and the Pacific.9
16 per cent of people in the
world’s least developed
countries are projected to 12 per
be connected by 2020, as cent fewer
compared with 53 per cent women use rising to 25
of the world population the Internet per cent
overall.8 12% than men 25% fewer in
worldwide, Africa.10

5
Dalberg, Impact of the Internet in Africa, April 2013, available at <http://dalberg.com/documents/Dalberg_Impact_of_Internet_Africa.pdf>.
6
Livingstone, Carr and Byrne, One in Three: Internet Governance and Child Rights, January 2016, available at <www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/
idp_2016_01.pdf>.
7
International Telecommunications Union, ICT Facts and Figures 2017, available at <www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/
ICTFactsFigures2017.pdf>.
8
ITU, Measuring the Information Society Report 2015, available at <www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/misr2015/
MISR2015-w5.pdf >.
9
International Telecommunications Union, ICT Facts and Figures 2017, available at <www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/
ICTFactsFigures2017.pdf >.
10
International Telecommunications Union, ICT Facts and Figures 2017, available at <www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/
ICTFactsFigures2017.pdf >.

ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL LITERACY 5

 PART I
CHILDREN’S
MEANINGFUL
ACCESS TO THE
INTERNET

6 CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL WORLD DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES

IS THERE A RIGHT TO ACCESS THE INTERNET?

From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), most core human
rights instruments preceded the invention and public adoption of the Internet. While there is no explicit international right
to Internet access, it is nonetheless increasingly clear that human rights are exercised online. This is even more true for
children born and raised in a digital world, where the Internet is in many ways an enabler for the CRC.11

Along these lines, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression has recognized the links
between the Internet and international human rights, finding that “access to the Internet is not only essential to enjoy the
right to freedom of expression, but also other rights, such as the right to education, the right to freedom of association
and assembly, the right to full participation in social, cultural and political life and the right to social and economic
development.”12

Among these rights, the right to education is of special importance to children and effectively serves as a gateway to
children’s full participation in civic life.13 Notably, the CRC states that children’s education should be directed towards
“preparation … for responsible life in a free society”.14 This has new meaning in a digital world, and as societies move
online, children must be fully equipped with the skills necessary to become responsible digital citizens. In other words,
children must be given opportunities to learn how to exercise their rights in a digital world for access to the Internet to be
meaningful.

WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO ACCESSING THE

INTERNET?

Access to the Internet is hindered by a range of barriers that dissuade, constrain or obstruct children’s meaningful
participation in the digital world. While there is a notable lack of robust research on whether and how children access
and use the Internet, particularly in the developing world, children are likely to face a combination of obstacles to
accessing the Internet.15 These barriers include affordability, connectivity, literacy, discrimination and inclusivity, as
recognized and elaborated by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression:16

• Affordability barriers result from high costs of technology and Internet access, and may deter
disadvantaged families from investing in ICTs at home.
• Connectivity restraints stem from inadequate communications and electrical infrastructure, and often
differentially affect rural communities.
• Literacy limitations, which include lower levels of reading ability and technical skill, make it difficult to
fully engage with ICTs in a meaningful way.
• Discrimination, whether based on gender, race, ethnicity, age or another factor, may discourage or
prevent some groups from using ICTs.
• Inclusivity challenges arise from ICT design and user interface, which may make technology difficult to
access by virtue of language, capacity or disability.

Each of these barriers requires greater attention, in terms of how children experience them and the steps that can be
taken to overcome them. Despite the current lack of available data, it nonetheless remains evident that actors across the
public and private sectors can and should work to reduce all barriers to children’s meaningful access to the Internet.

11
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 12, 13, 15 and 17.
12

A/66/290, at [61].
13

Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 28.
14

Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 29.
15
Jasmina Byrne, Why we need more research on children’s use of the internet, UNICEF, 13 August 2015, available at <https://blogs.unicef.org/blog/
why-we-need-more-research-on-childrens-use-of-the-internet>.
16
A/66/290. ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL LITERACY 7
 PART II
PROVIDING
MEANINGFUL
INTERNET ACCESS

8 CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL WORLD DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES

A complex array of social, economic and political factors underpin children’s lack of meaningful access to the
Internet, particularly in developing countries. While the private sector may in some instances contribute to or
reinforce this lack of access, businesses have also pursued a variety of initiatives that aim to improve children’s
Internet access and digital literacy. A selection of these initiatives is reviewed below, considering their full range
of potential impacts on children’s rights.

ZERO-RATING SERVICES

Through zero-rating, mobile network operators and Internet service providers offer users free access to
particular services and applications. Zero-rating is also sometimes described as sponsored data, given that
network operators are often able to cover the costs of access to certain applications with the funds accumulated
from sponsored content within those applications. Zero-rating services are popular in both advanced and
developing telecommunications and mobile markets, and are typically offered only to existing customers.

Zero-rating services have been met with strong criticism from human rights organizations and consumer
protection advocates. Some have raised concerns that zero-rating could “distort competition, thwart innovation,
threaten free speech, and restrict consumer choice” in industrialized countries,17 and others have denounced
these services in the developing world as “building a walled garden in which the world’s poorest people will only
be able to access a limited set of insecure websites and services.”18

Because zero-rating services give preference to some forms of data over others, many actors have expressed
fundamental worries that these services violate the principle of net neutrality, which holds that all Internet traffic
should be treated equally.19 With this in mind, some governments have taken action to prohibit the availability of
zero-rating services.20 Where zero-rating is permitted, research has suggested that current offerings may not be
an effective means of reducing initial barriers to entry for Internet access.21

Zero-rating has clear implications for children’s rights. The goal of providing free access to the Internet for
children who otherwise would not have the means to go online is laudable, although the nature and extent of the
access offered may not provide children with adequate means to fully exercise their rights online. Importantly,
in the absence of programmes or systems to develop children’s digital literacy, free Internet access will not give
children the essential benefits of being connected. In some circumstances, zero-rating may even work to limit
children’s understanding of what the Internet offers.22 Services can also pose more direct threats to children’s
rights, including through collecting and processing children’s personal data, tracking and monitoring children’s
browsing behaviour, and exposing children to extensive or unsuitable commercial content.23

17
Jon Brodkin, Zero-rating by major ISPs “threatens open Internet”, advocates tell FCC, Arstecnica, 28 March 2016, available at <http://arstechnica.
com/business/2016/03/zero-rating-by-major-isps-threatens-open-internet-advocates-tell-fcc>.
18
Maryant Fernández Pérez, ‘Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg: Internet.org vs. Net Neutrality, Privacy and Security’, EDRi, 19 May 2015, available at
<https://edri.org/letter-facebook-internet-org>.

19
Newly Purnell and Resty Woro Yuniar, ‘Facebook’s Free Internet Access Program in Developing Countries Provokes Backlash’, The Wall Street
Journal, 24 September 2015, available at <www.wsj.com/articles/facebooks-free-internet-access-program-in-developing-countries-provokes-
backlash-1443119580>.
20
Canada, Chile, the Netherlands and Slovenia have banned zero-rating services in light of net neutrality, and the United States has “acknowledged
that they could violate the spirit of net neutrality”. See Maryant Fernández Pérez, ‘Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg: Internet.org vs. Net Neutrality,
Privacy and Security’, EDRi, 19 May 2015, available at <https://edri.org/letter-facebook-internet-org>; Troy Wolverton, ‘Battle for net neutrality
isn’t over’, 5 February 2016, available at <www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_29482688/wolverton-battle-net-neutrality-isnt-over>.
21
Olivia Solon, ‘“It’s digital colonialism”: how Facebook’s free internet services has failed its users’, EDRi, 19 May 2015, available at
<https://edri.org/letter-facebook-internet-org>.
22
Leo MIrani, ‘Millions of Facebook users have no idea they’re using the internet’, Quartz, 9 February 2015, available at <http://qz.com/333313/
milliions-of-facebook-users-have-no-idea-theyre-using-the-internet>.
23
Global Voices, ‘Can Facebook connect the next billion?’, 27 July 2017, available at <https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/07/27/can-facebook-
connect-the-next-billion>.

ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL LITERACY 9

 ENHANCING AND INNOVATING CONNECTIVITY

The ICT sector has taken an active role in expanding Internet access around the world, particularly in remote and
rural areas. Businesses have helped to improve and accelerate existing Internet infrastructure, laying ultra-high-
speed fibre cables in densely populated cities and bringing wireless Internet to transit hubs and other public
spaces.24 At the same, businesses have been working to develop more innovative ways to connect, with some
aiming to provide Internet access through drones, balloons and even satellites.25

Business initiatives can effectively bring down barriers to access for children, both by reducing costs and
introducing connectivity to more communities. Where requisite levels of digital literacy exist, connectivity
programmes undoubtedly facilitate children’s access to the full benefits of the Internet.26 Nonetheless,
these programmes may present risks to children’s rights. For instance, collecting and processing information
about child Internet users can have an impact on children’s right to privacy, especially in countries that lack
comprehensive data protection regimes.

FREE AND DISCOUNTED DEVICES

Many businesses have embraced opportunities to provide children with digital devices free of charge or at a
reduced cost. Companies have sold and given away eReaders, tablets and laptops to children around the world,
most often in collaboration with national or local governments, non-governmental organizations or international
institutions.27 The reach of these programmes can be extensive, with one prominent initiative delivering 25
million low-cost computers to the world’s poorest children.28

While offering children connected devices can empower them to exercise their rights online, this is unlikely to
be achieved without more holistic programmes that provide ongoing technical support and digital literacy skills.29
Lack of educator training, parental scepticism, intermittent connectivity, unreliable electricity, and community
opposition can all threaten to undermine device-donation projects.30 As a result, many initiatives may fail to
realize their ambitions to further children’s development.31 In the words of one programme executive, “it isn’t
enough to simply provide the hardware, it’s the quality [of] the wrap-around services – the teacher training,
maintenance of technology, and reliability of power – which provides the long-term benefits”.32

24
See, e.g., Pranav Dixit, ‘Wifi for the next billion by no violating neutrality, says Google’, Hindustan Times, 16 December 2015, available at
<www.hindustantimes.com/tech/wifi-for-the-next-billion-but-no-violating-neutrality-says-google/story-sTK5ajIi7cxbLLcLd9X9zK.html>.
25
John Ribeiro, ‘Alphabet’s Project Loon balloons to deliver Internet to Indonesia’s islands’, PC World, 28 October 2015, available at <www.pcworld.
com/article/2999234/alphabets-project-loon-balloons-to-deliver-internet-to-indonesias-islands.html>; Peter Sayer, ‘Facebook, Eutelsat block-
book satellite capacity to deliver Internet to Africa’, 5 October 2015, available at <www.pcworld.com/article/2988842/facebook-eutelsat-block-
book-satellite-capacity-to-deliver-internet-to-africa.html>; Tom Simonite, ‘Billions of people could get online for the first time thanks to helium
balloons that Google will soon send over many places cell towers don’t reach’, MIT Technology Review, available at <www.technologyreview.
com/s/534986/project-loon>.
26
Pranav Dixit, ‘Wifi for the next billion by no violating neutrality, says Google’, Hindustan Times, 16 December 2015, available at <www.
hindustantimes.com/tech/wifi-for-the-next-billion-but-no-violating-neutrality-says-google/story-sTK5ajIi7cxbLLcLd9X9zK.html>.
27
See, e.g., Dalberg, ‘Impact of the Internet in Africa’, available at <http://dalberg.com/documents/Dalberg_Impact_of_Internet_Africa.pdf>; Dell,
Youth Learning, available at <www.dell.com/learn/us/en/uscorp1/power-possible-learning>.
28
See Audrey Watters, ‘The Failure of One Laptop per Child’, Hack Education, 9 April 2012, available at <http://hackeducation.com/2012/04/09/the-
failure-of-olpc>.
29
See, e.g., Annie Kelly, ‘Technology can empower children in developing countries – if it’s done right’, The Guardian, 17 June 2013, available at
<www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/technology-empower-children-developing-countries>.
30
‘How is ICT improving education in East Africa?’, SOS Children’s Villages, August 2014, available at <www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/news/
archive/2014/08/ict-education-east-africa>.
31 ‘Error message’, The Economist, 7 April 2012, available at <www.economist.com/node/21552202>.
32 Annie Kelly, ‘Technology can empower children in developing countries – if it’s done right’, The Guardian, 17 June 2013, available at <www.
theguardian.com/sustainable-business/technology-empower-children-developing-countries>.

10 CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL WORLD DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES

DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING

Digital literacy refers not only to the applied technical skills necessary to use and access the Internet, but also to
the capacity to critically and confidently engage with the online environment.33 While projects that provide access,
connectivity and devices to children abound, comparatively few private sector initiatives aspire to equip children
with holistic digital literacy skills. Some ICT companies offer training materials on child safety and protection to
complement their products and services, although they frequently are not accompanied by efforts to impart technical
skills or to enhance children’s, parents’ and educators’ levels of digital literacy.

Rather than provide standalone, non-commercial guidance on the critical consumption of digital media, most
businesses that contribute to the development of digital literacy skills do so through supporting educational
programmes run by public authorities or non-governmental organizations. This can be an effective, coordinated
way for the ICT sector to foster greater digital literacy, and leading companies can also play a more active role. For
example, one company runs an evidence-based global programme that teaches students to read and write online,
design and code text, navigate and search, and connect and contribute to an open and free Internet.34

Digital literacy skills are essential for children to have meaningful access to the Internet, and children’s right to
education in a digital world encompasses the learning necessary to fully exercise their rights online. The ICT sector
has tremendous opportunities to directly and indirectly contribute to children’s digital literacy. Where businesses seek
to provide children with access to the Internet, they also have a responsibility to ensure that this access is meaningful.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ICT SECTOR

While there has been much international attention on the ICT sector’s responsibility to respect human rights in the digital
environment,35 children’s rights have rarely featured in these discussions. When children are mentioned, it has been
almost exclusively in the context of sexual abuse, exploitation and harmful content, without recognition of children’s
full range of rights. In light of the growing importance of the Internet as a means for children to exercise these rights,
the dialogue must now be expanded to include the ICT sector’s impacts on children’s access to the Internet and digital
literacy.

The Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection published by UNICEF and the International Telecommunications
Union provide a useful framework for consideration. Among other things, the Guidelines highlight key activities that
companies can take to integrate child rights considerations into corporate policies and management processes; to
educate children, parents and teachers about children’s safety and their responsible use of ICTs; and to promote
digital technology as a mode for increasing civic engagement.36 Similarly, international bodies including the Internet
Governance Forum and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression have recently
explored the role and responsibilities of the ICT sector with respect to Internet access.37
33
Digital literacy may also be referred to as digital citizenship or media literacy. The European Commission uses the term ‘digital competence’,
defined as ‘the confident and critical use of information technology for work, leisure, learning and communication … underpinned by basic skills
in ICT [information and communication technologies].’ Vuorikari, R., Y. Puni, S. Carretero and G. Van den Brande (2016). DigComp 2.0: The digital
competence framework for citizens. Retrieved from <https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical- research-reports/
digcomp-20-digital-competence-framework-citizens-update-phase-1-conceptual-reference- model>.
34
Rob Lever, ‘Mozilla kicks off global “digital literacy” program’, Yahoo! News, 11 July 2014, available at <http://news.yahoo.com/mozilla-kicks-off-
global-digital-literacy-program-190629569.html>.
35
See, for example, the work of the Global Network Initiative and Ranking Digital Rights, which publishes a corporate accountability index for
companies in the ICT sector. See also the publication by Shift and the Institute of Business and Human Rights for the European Commission, ‘ICT
Sector Guide on Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights’, available at <http://shiftproject.org/sites/default/files/
ECHRSG.ICT_.pdf>.

36
Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection, available at <www.itu.int/en/cop/Documents/bD_Broch_INDUSTRY_0909.pdf>.

37
See, e.g., Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Human rights
Council, A/HRC/32/38, 11 May 2016.

ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL LITERACY 11

 PART III
THE
RESPONSIBILITIES
OF AND
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR THE ICT
SECTOR

12 CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL WORLD DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES

INTEGRATING CHILD RIGHTS
CONSIDERATIONS INTO ALL APPROPRIATE
POLICIES AND PROCESSES

ICT companies can integrate a focus on expanding access to the Internet and enhancing digital literacy skills
across their operational policies and processes. Products, applications and services can be designed and
delivered to overcome key barriers to children’s meaningful access to the Internet, including affordability,
connectivity, literacy, discrimination and inclusivity. To achieve this, companies could consider:

• Making access affordable, by providing devices, applications and services on a free, low-cost or
‘freemium’ basis
• Strengthening connectivity, by investing in communications and electrical infrastructure, particularly in
rural areas
• Building literacy, by making services, products, content and terms and conditions accessible to children
in a way they can understand
• Challenging discrimination, by striving to reach all sectors of society equally and removing bias in
advertising and commercial content
• Promoting inclusivity, by providing content in a variety of languages and adapting products and services
for children with disabilities and other potentially marginalized groups

Where companies pursue initiatives that can improve children’s access to the Internet, such as through zero-
rating or providing free devices, they should also consider the full range of potential impacts on children’s
rights. Among other measures, companies should put policies in place to ensure that children’s data is
sufficiently protected, and should avoid limiting children’s access to beneficial information online for commercial
reasons.

EDUCATING CHILDREN, PARENTS AND

TEACHERS ABOUT CHILDREN’S SAFETY AND
THEIR RESPONSIBLE USE OF ICTS

Companies can provide or support digital literacy training to complement online services and technology
offerings for children. Through digital literacy initiatives, companies can help give children, parents and teachers
the tools to safely use and explore the Internet. To have the broadest reach, programmes should be freely
available with materials produced in a variety of languages, and they should be adaptable to children’s differing
levels of understanding. Curricula should help children learn to fully exercise their rights online, including their
rights to privacy, protection, freedom of expression, and access to information.

ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL LITERACY 13

 PROMOTING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AS A
MODE FOR INCREASING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Technology provides children with a powerful way to participate in democratic debate and make their voices
heard at all levels of government. As with digital literacy education, ICT companies can help to give children
the tools and skills to publicly engage with society. Civic engagement should form a part of training
materials, and ICT companies can use digital technology to create opportunities for children to connect and
share their views and opinions.

14 CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL WORLD DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES

PART IV
THE ROLE OF
STATES

ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL LITERACY 15

 Governments have an obligation to ensure that businesses respect children’s rights, and should take appropriate
steps to realize children’s rights online. For example, governments can foster a free and open Internet for
children by upholding the principle of net neutrality, put in place legal frameworks to protect children’s personal
information online, and promote a fair and competitive market so that ICT services and devices become
affordable for all. At the same time, governments must respect children’s rights in their own activities, and
should bear children’s rights in mind when considering investments in digital technology and communications
infrastructure. Similarly, governments should work to make Internet access meaningful for children by
incorporating digital literacy into connectivity initiatives, educational curricula and public awareness campaigns.

LEGISLATIVE MEASURES

• Uphold network neutrality

Children benefit the most from an Internet that is free, secure and open. To preserve the full range of
opportunities for children to exercise their rights online, governments should enshrine and uphold the
principle of network neutrality that all Internet traffic be treated equally.

• Protect children’s data

As innovative connectivity initiatives bring children online for the first time, governments should have
in place legal frameworks to protect children’s personal information. Comprehensive data protection
regimes should provide clear and predictable frameworks for the collection, processing, use and sale of
children’s data, and governments should work together to develop and implement universal standards
that offer children consistent protection for their privacy and personal information around the world.

• Promote competition in telecommunications

Governments should maintain fair and impartial systems to govern telecommunications, including for
spectrum allocation and licensing. To facilitate widespread access to the Internet, laws should aim to
promote competition and reduce consumer prices for ICT devices and services.

POLICY MEASURES

• Improve the affordability and availability of Internet access

Governments should consider subsidizing Internet access and digital technology devices for children,
while also prioritizing investment in long-term Internet infrastructure projects. Public-private partnerships
can also be sought as an effective means to provide widespread Internet access, provided that strong
legal frameworks exist to ensure that the partnerships benefit those in need of support.

• Invest in digital literacy

To make Internet access meaningful, governments must ensure that children have the requisite technical
skills and levels of digital literacy. Governments should provide education and training programmes for
parents, teachers and children, and should fully integrate digital literacy into school curricula.

• Support research and guidance on reducing barriers

Governments should support sound research to better understand and address the barriers that children
face to meaningful Internet access, particularly children at risk of becoming vulnerable or marginalized.
Governments can also develop or support the development of guidelines for businesses to reduce these
barriers in line with children’s full range of rights.

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CONCLUSION

The Internet promises a fundamental transformation in how children can exercise their rights, yet barriers to
meaningful access persist around the world. Given its power, influence and technical expertise, the ICT sector
can do much to bring down these barriers for children. Businesses also have much to gain from children’s use of
digital technologies, as children represent a potentially lucrative consumer market.

This can be a powerful alignment of incentives, although it must be remembered that children benefit only from
Internet access that reinforces the exercise of their rights online. As such, this paper has presented a range
of practical steps to provide children with meaningful access to the Internet. It is hoped that businesses and
governments alike will adopt measures to better protect and empower children as full rights holders in a digital
world.

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18 CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL WORLD DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES